It Is in Darkness That One Finds the Light
by Kattyb101
Summary: Jess and Matt manage to escape the mine and survive until dawn together. This alone is enough to create a bond between the two that only strengthens as the time goes on. This is composed of three short fics, each a different scene from different points of time.
1. Escape

**Chapter 1: Escape**

"We made it out." Matt breathed out as the creature retreated back into the shadows of the mines. The wind ripped around them like a vicious animal trying to tear at their flesh, but neither he nor Jess moved right away. A more terrifying animal could still be lurking nearby. "Jesus Christ, what the fuck was that thing?" The young man finally asked, carefully peering around the corner to make sure it was truly gone. Whatever it was, he knew it wasn't human. It had to be the same thing that grabbed him earlier; it dragged him through the mine until he blasted it with the flare gun.

"We need to keep moving." Jess said, her voice raspy and weak. She couldn't name the creature chasing them either, but she knew better than to stand around discussing when they could keep running.

"Right, you're right. The lodge is over there," Matt pointed to the building, just visible against the lightening sky. "Let's get moving." He lightly wrapped an arm over her shoulder to provide her with support as he looked around for a way down. "Here, the slope's not too bad over there. So, we'll just start down slowly."

"Okay." The girl managed a strained response as Matt started leading her across the ledge until they reached the slope. When she stepped down into a drift, instantly clumps of snow cascaded into the old boots she wore now. Jess let out a soft noise as the frozen flakes hit her leg. The cold was just enough to distract her from her pain for a brief moment.

"Oh, God. You must be freezing." Matt commented as he finally took the chance to look at her. She shivered, practically naked in just her undergarments with only an old miners' jacket and the now snow filled boots to fight the elements. "Here…" He stopped their trudging to set the lantern on a rock. He steadied it before pulling off his jacket followed by the shirt and sweater beneath it. This left him in only a tank top as he struggled to pull the shirt back on. He buttoned it part of the way up to block what little cold he could. "Fuck it's freezing." He muttered as he finally shrugged back into the letter jacket.

"Matt… you don't…" The girl protested, but didn't fight as he took the old shirt off of her and helped to pull his sweater over her head. Jess instantly hugged her chest, doing whatever she could do to retain his lingering warmth.

"Here, hold on." He moved her arms so that he could pull the jacket back over her as well. "I know that doesn't help your legs…"

"Matt, thank you." Her icy numb legs didn't nullify the gracious act. The sweater was already more kindness than she could expect, after she had snapped at him earlier. "Thank you, it's fine." The girl started forward again, but he only allowed her a few steps.

"I don't want you to get frostbite, Jess." Matt began before biting his lip, considering their options. He picked up the lantern again and handed it to her. "Hold this." Despite his own injuries, Matt saw no better plan than to simply pick her up and carry her. Outside of the large scratch on his leg and another on his shoulder, the rest of his injuries were fairly minor. He could make it a short distance with her in his arms. Maybe not all the way to the lodge, but even that short distance had to make a difference, had to mean something. He lifted her into his arms in one swift movement and began moving again.

"Matt…" As he picked her up, Jess let out a soft whimper. The movement had sent a jolt of pain rushing through her. Still, she knew it would be worse for her to continue on her own. In this state she simply moved too slow on her own. Right now she just wanted to get away. Fast.

They only made it about halfway down the slope when the shock-wave from a nearby explosion shook the ground beneath them. Matt's eyes found the source in seconds. Their destination, the lodge, was now engulfed in flames and billowing smoke plumes. "Holy shit. It's… it- "

"What was that? Matt?"

"It's the lodge. Jess… it's on fire."

"What?!" She twisted in his arms trying to confirm his claim. Matt turned her so that burning building came into her view. "Oh my God, oh my God, what happened?"

"I have no idea." His grip on the girl faltered. Out of worry, Matt set her back on her feet. Dropping her now was the last thing either of them needed. "I'm sure everyone… I'm sure they're all okay. They- They've got to be…" He attempted to reassure her, just as much for his own benefit as for hers. "We gotta go see if- we gotta see who made it." They began with renewed focus. Matt pushed them at the fastest pace Jess's injuries allowed. Before they closed even a fourth of the remaining distance, Matt halted their approach again. "Do you hear that?" He squeezed his eyes shut and craned his neck to the side, chasing the sound and daring to hope.

"We need to keep moving." Jess begged, tugging on his sleeve. Her heart pounded in her ears at the thought of what might be coming for them. Matt opened his eyes and shook his head, a grin slowly forming on his face. She blinked at him, wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape. How could he grin at a time like this?

"Jess," he put his hands on her arm and gestured toward the sky. "That is the sound of a helicopter. We're getting out of here!" Laughing, he released her and threw his arms into the air. Ignoring the pain of his injuries and exhausted muscles, the man flailed his arms in large circles, pleading for the pilot to notice them.


	2. Aftermath

**Chapter 2: Aftermath**

" _He came for me. He did."_

" _Came for you?"_

" _Where is he? Did he make it?"_

" _Who? Who came for you?"_

" _Mike. Where is he?"_

" _I'm sorry, Jessica. He didn't make it."_

" _Oh my God." The girl let out a sob and hid her face against the blanket._

As Matt sat in the waiting room, he found himself fiddling with the now fraying sleeve of his jacket. Anything to ignore the piercing glare from across the room. He had tried to save Emily. He really had, but she deemed his efforts insufficient, extremely insufficient. In her mind, he had been fighting with her the entire night and therefore when he jumped to the ledge, he was leaving her for dead. But what could he have done? He had tried to save her. Hell, he had almost died for her. If that wasn't enough to save their relationship, then nothing was. And a part of him… well, a part of him had to admit that he felt relieved. Just as Matt tried to save her in the fire tower, he tried to make it work with her, but nothing helped. This just marked the end.

Not that any of that mattered now.

Matt still wasn't clear on what transpired while he was trapped in the mines, but as far as he could tell, none of it was good. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Either way, there were bigger problems than his relationship that was in shambles.

"Matt." The voice was hoarse, but it was enough to pull Matt out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Jess shuffling her way towards him, a large blanket draped over her shoulders, making her appear even smaller than she already was. When they were in the mine, he could scarcely believe how broken she looked, but even that couldn't compare to how she looked now.

"Jess." He was on his feet and by her side in a second. Matt couldn't place the motivation for his instantaneous reaction and this was hardly the place to figure it out. "Hey, they didn't…" He wasn't always the most observant person, but even he couldn't miss her newly tear-stained cheeks. "A-are you okay?"

"Matt, he's dead. Mike is…" The words caught in her throat, ending her sentence. Saying the words aloud made it real. Instead, she fell against his chest, the tears threatening to come again. At least now there was the slightest sense of comfort from being so near.

"Oh my God… Jess, I'm so… I'm so sorry." There was an aching in his chest as he lightly rubbed her shoulders. It pained him to see her like this, but he was unsure of what else he could say. What words could possibly comfort her? "Do you…" He held his tongue, biting back his question. She wouldn't want to talk about it, not this soon, so he wouldn't push. Instead, Matt simply remained silent as he held her in his arms.

"Jesus Christ, that didn't take you long at all to move on, did it?" A voice snarled from the other end of the waiting room. Emily. For a few moments he had forgotten her daggered eyes across the room. Matt didn't want to let go of Jess, but he did so he could turn to look at the other girl. "Mike's been dead, what, five hours and your skanky ass is already all over _my_ boyfriend."

"What the hell, Em?" Matt kept an arm around Jess as if that would protect her from the biting words being hurled at her. Still, she trembled even with his support. "Do you really think now is the time to start a fight? Mike is dead and everyone's had a really shitty night."

"You… you had a shitty night?! You dropped me out of a fire tower, you fucking meathead! And where the hell was she while the rest of us were running for our lives and seeing people die?" Em stood now, her hip cocked with her hand resting on it. Matt readied his response, but a soft cry from next to him drew his attention quickly back to Jess.

"Jess… Jess are you alright?" Tears were streaming down the girl's face again. It made Matt hold her tighter. "Come on. Let's go outside. Get some fresh air." He muttered, leading her away from Emily.

"Well, I hope you two enjoy each other's company. You really fucking deserve each other." Emily called at their backs. Once outside, he found a bench to sit on with Jess. He adjusted her blanket, making sure that she was still warm, before holding her close once again.

"I'm sorry about that." Matt murmured as the girl settled against him. "And before when I sided with her… I shouldn't have. She's always like this and I always make excuses and I am so sorry…"

"You don't have to say sorry." The girl hiccupped as she tried to hold back the tears to no avail. "I know how Emily is and… and besides she had every right to be angry at me in the cabin. Mike and I… M-mike and…" Saying his name again was too much and she began sobbing once more. Matt tugged her closer against his chest and he kept her there until her tears ran out. "Matt… you never have to say sorry to me. You were there for me. You saved me."

"Jess, I didn't-"

"You could have left me there."

"No. I couldn't have."

 **I'm not great at writing short things because I feel it is more obvious that I'm not great with descriptions, BUT I hope you enjoy and thank you very much for reading!**


	3. Recovery

**Chapter 3: Recovery**

Several years had passed since that weekend on the mountain. The wounds had healed, but the scars, both physical and not, still lingered. All through these years, Jess would wake up in the middle of the night, crying out in alarm. Each and every time Matt drew her into her arms until the nightmares faded away. He had his own nightmares certainly, but to Matt waking up in a cold sweat could not compare to whatever terrors she faced. He would not willingly add to her troubles.

Jess was getting better, however, and that filled many of his days with gratefulness. Every now and then, Matt could see it in her face. A sense of calm would wash over her and leave the woman smiling true and free rather than forcibly. While that night changed her, permanently, and left her happiness as only a shadow of the bubbliness she exuded before, he still lived for those moments, lived to see her so content. It would be enough to bring a smile to his own face.

That night, Matt once again found himself scrambling out of his sleep to escape another nightmarish dreamscape. The glowing eyes, the sharp claws, the disgustingly mutated body, his mind kept them as clear as ever. He sat up, rubbing the sweat from his face as he took steadying breaths to slow his heart rate. Only once the snarling face faded and his heart began beating normally did he notice the empty space beside him.

"I didn't want to wake you up." Her voice said just before he had the chance to worry. Matt followed the voice to its origin to find Jess sitting by the window, wrapped tightly in a sweater as she watched him. "You're always helping me and…" She gave a shrug, hiding half of her face against her arm as she stared out the window. He felt his heart drop ever so slightly as he realized his own nightmare kept him from being there with comfort when she required it.

A second realization hit him as Matt moved off the bed and to her side. "Is that what I think it is?" He lightly picked at one of the rips in the wool of the sweater. She wore a relic, a reminder of a time that he thought both of them preferred left far behind. "You still have this thing?" He set his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her.

"It helps me feel at ease." She said, leaning against his chest. "You had a nightmare. Are you okay?"

Matt sighed as he looked at her. He wanted nothing less than to worry her in any way. "Jess, don't…"

"No, Matt." Jess pulled back to look at him, her hand resting on his cheek. "You are always helping me, I just… I want to help you too. I want to be there for you when you have nightmares. It can't just be one way." Her thumb brushed against his cheek as she spoke. "It's my turn to help and you're going to let me. Now… talk to me. Please."

"It's just…" The man sighed as he looked at her, the determined look on her face making it clear she was not simply going to drop it. "I can still hear its screaming so clearly. Feel the claws digging into me…" Matt rubbed his shoulder, a phantom pain causing it to ache. "I don't think I'll ever forget it." Jess nodded as she listened, her hand moving to rest on his chest. She was one of the few people who could truly understand what he meant. And more than that, it was just good to hear him finally talking about it for once.

Matt set a hand on hers, their fingers intertwining perfectly as he continued to hold her hand against his chest. "And the worst part…" He stopped as he felt a tightening in his chest. It wasn't just the monsters that haunted him from that night. There was something less tangible that still clawed at him. The warmth of her hand beneath his gave him the push needed to continue on with his words. "When that fire tower was falling and Emily was hanging there…That feeling that there was nothing I could do… Wondering if maybe I had insisted that we didn't split up then maybe… what if we could have saved Mike and Josh…" Matt chewed on his lip as he turned to stare out the window. He knew it was pointless to continue to hold onto that sense of hopelessness, but even during this passage of time actually letting go remained impossible.

Jess watched him in silence for a while, giving him a chance to say more if needed. When he didn't speak again she let out a soft sigh and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "Mike and Josh… that isn't on you, Matt. None of it was. Things… things just happened the way they did. It's not your fault."

His grip on her hand tightened and she heard his sharp intake of breath. "I just wish," his voice cracked as a few stray tears traced down his cheeks. "I wish I could have done something."

"Matt… hey," she pulled back to look at him, quick to wipe the tears from his face. "You did do something. I would have been in those mines alone if it hadn't been for you. And I know that isn't much, but it meant a lot to me." Another soft sigh escaped her, as Jess brought his head down to cradle it against her chest. "We can't just let go and forget that night, at least I know I never will. We've just got to cope. Heal however we can."

"I've got…" Matt stopped, taking in a breath to steady his wavering voice. "I've got you. That helps." A soft smile appeared on his lips as he pulled away from her, making the genuine smile now on his face visible. "You need to know you're helping me. Everyday. Even when you don't think you are. Never doubt that."

"I won't." Her voice was quiet as she shifted to resume looking out the window as his arms wrapped comfortably around her. There they stayed until the morning sun peaked over the horizon casting them in hazy sunbeams, two broken souls keeping each other secure.


End file.
